U.S. Embassy warns visa lottery applicants of being scammed

THE US Embassy has cautioned applicants of visas through Diversity Visa Programme (DV- 2018) to avoid middlemen who ask for money in exchange for help to get the document.

As the embassy announced the opening of this year’s entry submission for DV programme whereby people participate in lottery for winning the visa, the embassy stated in its statement: ‘Please do not send, pay or transfer money to any organisation or person who offers to assist you or increase your chance of winning the lottery.’

The DV-2018 is the programme which awards up to 55,000 US immigrant visas annually to people from countries with historically low rates of immigration to the US. The Department of State Consular Affairs said the application for the programme is open until November 7. The statement noted that the selection of the application through the lottery does not guarantee issuance of a visa.

“If you win the lottery, you will still need an interview appointment to determine if you meet the requirements of US immigration law,” part of the statement read. US immigration law provides only a few ways to qualify for a Diversity Immigrant Visa and these ways tend to be narrowly defined.

The most common ways of getting a green card are people who find themselves left out, the diversity visa (DV) lottery may provide through a job offer or a close family member already established in the US – and even these categories leave out many people who would like to make their home in the US.